With Ash Wednesday Starts Lenten penitence

By John B. Monteiro
Bellevision Media Network

Remember O’ man you are dust and to dust you shall return. (Genesis 3.19).

 

Today (February 13) Christians throng churches to mark Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday can be anytime between February 4 and March 10. It is the first day of Lent, a period of fasting, abstinence and penance, which lasts forty days ending with Holy Saturday – this year on March 30. Ash Wednesday is called so due to the custom of imposing ashes on the head of the faithful in the churches. While imposing ashes on the head, in earlier times the priest used to say: “Remember, man, that thou art dust and unto dust thou shall return.” This is now replaced by: “Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.” This is a shift from a threat of God’s punishment to the sinner, to have trust and return to the compassionate and merciful God.

 

 On Ash Wednesday Christians attend Church service where the forehead of devotees is marked with ashes in the shape of a cross. This symbolises that the person belongs to Jesus Christ who died on the cross. This is the imitation of the spiritual mark put on a Christian at Baptism where he is delivered from slavery to sin and devil and made a slave of righteousness and Christ.

 
Ashes are Biblical symbols of mourning and penance. In Biblical times the custom was to fast, wear sackcloth, sit in dust and ashes, and put dust and ashes on the head as mark of mourning and penance. Now, only the symbol remains – apart from fasting and abstinence. Ashes also symbolise death and remind Christians of their mortality. The ashes are derived by burning palm fronds left over from Palm Sunday of the previous year which celebrates the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, welcomed as king by throngs of people, only to be crucified five days later on Good Friday.

 
Traditionally, the main aspect of observing Lent was fasting. During the initial centuries of Christianity, fasting during Lent was confined to a few days to a week. The Council of Nicaea in 325 AD mentioned the period as forty days. By the end of the 4th century, the forty-day fasting became common. Besides Christ’s forty-day fasting, in the Old Testament, prophets Moses and Elijah also had similar fasts. Initially, only one meal without fish and meat was allowed. In the 19th century the rules were relaxed to have fish and eggs.

 
Another aspect of Lenten devotion is the making the Way of the Cross involving 14 stations, recalling, and reflecting on, the journey of Jesus from the time he was caught, scourged, condemned to death, marched to Golgotha carrying the cross, crucified, died and entombed. This devotion stretches from ten minutes to30 minutes and even three hours as is done on Good Friday – Three Hours Agony, from 12 noon.

 
For centuries the popular understanding of Lent centred on physical suffering. Vatican Council II (1962) shifted the emphasis to spiritual preparation for Easter and broadened the process to include other forms of penance and increased prayers and works of charity. Thus, three aspects of Lent – prayer, fasting and giving alms – are meant to prepare Christians to celebrate the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday.

 
Each Diocese (the administrative area under a Bishop) frames its own rules of fasting and abstinence (refraining from eating meat). The rules bind those above 18 and below 60 years. Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are days of fasting and abstinence. All the Fridays in Lent are days of abstinence. A dispensation is granted to members of the Armed Forces and those traveling by land, sea or air. Fasting allows one full meal and two lighter ones.  Those who cannot fast can compensate by doing a number of alternate sacrifices and devotions.

 Ash Wednesday is not a day of obligation – it is not compulsory to attend Church service. But Christians all over crowd the churches on this day. Among the special prayers recited at church services on Ash Wednesday is: “In this holy season, help us to turn our minds and hearts back to you. Lead us into sincere repentance and renew our lives with your grace. Help us to remember that we are sinners, but even more, help us to remember your loving mercy. As we live through this Ash Wednesday may the cross of ashes that marks our forehead be a reminder to us and to those who meet (us) that we belong to your Son. May our worship, prayer and penitence this day be sustained throughout these forty days in Lent. Bring us refreshed and renewed to the celebration of Christ’s Resurrection at Easter”.

 
Unlike the proverbial calm before the storm, in the case of Ash Wednesday, there is carnal storm before the calm. In many countries the last day before Ash Wednesday - called Madri Gras, Shrove Tuesday and Carnival - has become a last fling before the penitence and solemnity of Lent. For centuries, it was customary to fast by abstaining from meat during Lent, which is why some people called it the festival of Carnival, which is Latin for “farewell to meat”. There is a strong Carnival tradition in Ispanic (Portugal, Spain) and Latin American countries.

 
 In India, Goa has a strong Carnival tradition. These celebrations start on the Sunday (this year March 10) previous to Ash Wednesday and end on its eve. There has been a strong opposition to Carnivals because of their commercialisation and vulgarisation. A few years ago, there were Church-supported demonstrations against Carnival in Panjim, Goa where floats led by King Momo take to the streets for three days. Now, official encouragement comes from the government in the name of tourist promotion. While many rush to Goa to join the revelers, TV channels, specially FTV, bring the carnivals - Rio carnival, for instance – to the drawing rooms worldwide. The Rio carnival will dominate FTV transmission for three days leading to Ash Wednesday, it would be rebroadcast off and on throughout the year.  

 
For Canara Christians, Ash Wednesday evokes sad memories. In the siege of Mangalore in 1794, Tippu Sultan vanquished the British.  Tippu suspected the native Christian population of secretly aiding the British and a terrible persecution ensued. Having set guards over the villages in which they resided, Tippu’s soldiers seized in one night about 60,000 Christians and forcibly deported them to Mysore. They were rounded up for the captivity on Ash Wednesday on the basis of the ash cross on their foreheads. Their sufferings on the way were intense, and with many of them having died or killed on the way, only a portion reached Shrirangapatnam, where the men were circumcised and a number of the most  able-bodied as soldiers. The remainder, with the women and children, were distributed throughout the villages of Mysore. They remained there till the British defeated Tippu in 1799. The number of those who returned from their 15-year captivity has been estimated at only 12,000.